Could You Go for a Month Without Coffee?

I usually only have one cup of caffeinated coffee or tea in the morning. However, if it’s late, and I crave a coffee, I keep some decaf on hand. There’s something about the way coffee smells and tastes that gets me in a certain mood. Herbal tea is nice, but there’s something richer about coffee that I really enjoy. I know decaf still has a little caffeine in there, but I wish it didn’t have such negative connotations. You’re almost guaranteed to be made fun of for ordering it, but shoot, it keeps me from staring at the ceiling all night if I have a late cup.

Re: Could You Go for a Month Without Coffee?

#6

Post by officialjunk » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 3:03 PM UTC

yes, easy.

Re: Could You Go for a Month Without Coffee?

#7

Post by rongenre » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 3:12 PM UTC

After hearing Michael Pollan's interview about caffeine (specifically the parts about how long it's half-life is), I went from drinking 6-7 cups of [caffeinated] coffee daily for over 25 years to - decaffeinated tea.

I was prepared for withdrawal, but.. nothing really.

Re: Could You Go for a Month Without Coffee?

#8

Post by bluefirebrand » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 3:21 PM UTC

Caffeine withdrawal sucks, I've gone through this pattern of drinking lots of coffee, weaning myself off, slowly ramping back up consumption, repeat.

I realized my problem is I actually just really enjoy the flavor of good coffee. Now I'm on decaf and I've been "coffee free" for much longer than a month since that switch.

It's kind of hard to find really good decaf unfortunately. Way less variety than caffeinated coffee.

Re: Could You Go for a Month Without Coffee?

#9

Post by rudolph9 » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 3:30 PM UTC

In my experience, caffeine tolerance is dependent on how much you regularly intake. I switched to decaf about a year ago (which still has a not-insignificant amount of caffeine in it) and I get the boost I normally would from a fully caffeinated cup once my body adjusted (a month or a so). I have to go out of my way to find good whole bean decaf but the taste is great, the effect is very similar, and the headaches I get on the weekend when I don’t drink any are far more mild. Highly recommend switching to exclusively decaf.

Re: Could You Go for a Month Without Coffee?

#10

Post by browningstreet » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 3:33 PM UTC

bluefirebrand wrote: post #8

Caffeine withdrawal sucks, I've gone through this pattern of drinking lots of coffee, weaning myself off, slowly ramping back up consumption, repeat. I realized my problem is I actually just really enjoy the flavor of good coffee. Now I'm on decaf and I've been "coffee free" for much longer than a month since that switch. It's kind of hard to find really good decaf unfortunately. Way less variety than caffeinated cof…

I kicked caffeinated coffee a couple of years ago, and the disappearance of decaf coffees from grocery aisles was pretty surprising.

Starbucks doesn't even brew it anymore, though they'll make it on demand.

We stockpile Peet's decafs as we find them in the big chain grocery stores, but I've just taken to paying for a Peet's decaf subscription delivery. 2 bags show up on the regular, it's a bit more expensive, but it fits our schedule.